Moving to the States

Kiith

So my wife and i have started talking about moving to the states. She from Cleveland, and we are thinking of moving back there. Still lots of things to figure out, like work and finances, but it's an idea that's started to take form.

• From what i can see, i'd be applying for a K-3 Visa (with the I-130 form), but does that give me the right to work as well? Or do i also need to apply for a work permit separately?
• And does anyone know how long it usually takes? Says 6-9 months assuming there are no complications, but is that accurate?
• Does being a citizen impact job searches here, or would the K-3 visa be enough for most employers?
• One big worry is my wife's student debts. She hasn't paid off any in the last couple of years, so i assume we'd be walking into a pretty rough situation there. Her credit rating is probably as bad as it can be, but will that impact mine when i come over? At least if one of us can start building credit, it will help with most services (i hear even getting a phone can be tough without credit).

Having plenty of family here will definitely help, but its still a pretty daunting plan.

HDMI

Kiith wrote: »

So my wife and i have started talking about moving to the states. She from Cleveland, and we are thinking of moving back there. Still lots of things to figure out, like work and finances, but it's an idea that's started to take form.

• From what i can see, i'd be applying for a K-3 Visa (with the I-130 form), but does that give me the right to work as well? Or do i also need to apply for a work permit separately?
• And does anyone know how long it usually takes? Says 6-9 months assuming there are no complications, but is that accurate?
• Does being a citizen impact job searches here, or would the K-3 visa be enough for most employers?
• One big worry is my wife's student debts. She hasn't paid off any in the last couple of years, so i assume we'd be walking into a pretty rough situation there. Her credit rating is probably as bad as it can be, but will that impact mine when i come over? At least if one of us can start building credit, it will help with most services (i hear even getting a phone can be tough without credit).

Having plenty of family here will definitely help, but its still a pretty daunting plan.

Because you are married to a US citizen you will be applying for a CR1 / IR1 visa. K-3 is no longer really used and would only be switched to CR1 / IR1 later when it get to the NVC. Process time is around 12-18 months, your wife will need to show intent to return to the US. If she has no income currently in the US she would be your initial sponsor and then you will also need a second US based sponsor who must show proof of income and the ability to be financially responsible for you.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/family-immigration/immigrant-visa-for-spouse.html

HDMI

You can build your own credit rating by taking out a secured credit card it's quite handy, also look at possibly a store card. For mobile phones bill pay is much more expensive for some reason, I use a prepay plan which costs $70 per month on AT&T for both our phones. For that we get 8gb data and unlimited calls an extra $5 gets me 250 mins call time back to Ireland. The equivalent on bill pay is about $40 More expensive. Try get you phone from Ireland unlocked before you come, less discounts on mobile phones over here.

Fathom

Kiith wrote: »

So my wife and i have started talking about moving to the states. She from Cleveland, and we are thinking of moving back there.

Cleveland's unemployment rate was 4.1 percent. US unemployment was 3.6 percent. Specific occupations may vary.

Kiith

Ok, so IR-1 in that case, as we've been married for 4 years now (in Ireland and the US). She won't have any income in the states, but her aunt and uncle have said they'd be happy to sponsor us if that's needed. As much as we'd like it to be sooner, 12-18 months is probably a realistic time to get us ready to move over anyway. We've also talked about her coming over a few months earlier, staying with her aunt and uncle, and she can start working on her credit score before i join her.

As for work, thankfully there seems to be a lot of IT positions, and know a few people in the industry here, so that shouldn't be to much of a problem for me. She's in birthwork as well, so she should be able to find work once we get settled here.

Fathom

Kiith wrote: »

As for work, thankfully there seems to be a lot of IT positions, and know a few people in the industry here, so that shouldn't be to much of a problem for me.

Cisco jobs online application.

él statutorio

I did this 5 years ago. Yank wife wanted to move home. Still here in the US 5 years later, all worked out well.

Happy to answer any questions you have.

Kiith

él statutorio wrote: »

I did this 5 years ago. Yank wife wanted to move home. Still here in the US 5 years later, all worked out well.

Happy to answer any questions you have.

What was the biggest hurdle for you?

Things i've no idea about are how credit works and if i can transfer it over there, how expensive healthcare really is, and how a green card would limit my work opportunities (i.e. citizenship requirements for work?).

I'm still looking into all of the above, as we are a year away at least with the visa delays, but want to get as much info as soon as possible.

él statutorio

Kiith wrote: »

What was the biggest hurdle for you?

Things i've no idea about are how credit works and if i can transfer it over there, how expensive healthcare really is, and how a green card would limit my work opportunities (i.e. citizenship requirements for work?).

I'm still looking into all of the above, as we are a year away at least with the visa delays, but want to get as much info as soon as possible.

For me it was the time it took to get the green card. When I applied all Irish applications were done in Dublin and it was fairly quick, midway through the process they moved it back to the US and the wait times doubled. I had a job lined up with the original timescale and this screwed me. Long story short we went to the local congresswoman and my case got bumped to the front of the queue.

WRT credit, start by having the wife name you on a few of her credit cards. Once you get your social security number, apply for a card yourself, you'll likely get a basic card with a low limit (Hello Discover Card!) but use for everything and clear it each month. Do about 6 months of that and all the credit card companies will be sending you offers.

Outside of that, once I got here, the biggest hurdle was actually making friends. Proper friends, not just work acquaintances. That took about two years, it was tough and took time but I have a few close friends here that I can just call up and grab a beer with if I'm having a bad day or whatever.

The Nal

HDMI

I moved over about 18 months ago.

Biggest hurdle because we misunderstood the term "show intent to return" which was proving my wife's plan to actually return to the US. She had been living in Ireland 14 years, we came over for a 9 week holiday before my interview at the embassy with plans to set things in place. We opened bank accounts which was easy enough, store cards were easy, secured credit card in my wife's name mine couldn't be added until I became a resident. She registered to vote. Bought a car and insured it so we figured we had plenty of documentation.

At my interview I got an ignorant fecker who wanted to know why my wife hadn't been working in Ireland for 7 years previously and I said she had cancer but was now 5 years clear and was ready to return to work. He was an ass and asked as my sponsor if her cancer came back who would look after me. They gave me a refusal form stating that my wife had to prove she had a firm job offer before they would approve my visa. Within a few weeks I was approved because I had my own continuing income which exceeded their poverty guidelines. I didnt included it in my finances and assumed they would just look at my father in laws who was my second sponsor and well exceeeded financial requirements.

Credit rating does not transfer from Ireland, the banking systems score differently so you start off with zero. But it doesn't take long to get it sorted if you target items that report to the credit agencies. Credit card offers regularly come through the mail, keeps the shredder happy.

So because we moved late in the year and I had continuing income which was going to be declared for state and federal taxes I was allowed to use this to apply through the healthcare marketplace. My income was around 23k and I qualified for Blue Shield healthcare for my wife and I. A trip to the doc cost me between 5-20 dollars as part of my copay, my wife need to register with an oncologist to monitor her for future check ups, copay for that was $50. It costs me about $90 for 3 different pills every 3 months. I had to have a CT scan which I had to pay $200 towards and around the same for endoscopy and colonoscopy. No wait times like in Ireland and the healthcare has been amazing. I was shocked considering all the horror stories you hear about how expensive it is.

If you are married longer 2 years then you will get a 10 year green card with no restrictions at all, you can go do whatever you want and apply for citizenship after 5 years. If you are married 5 years or more you can apply for citizenship after 3 years, you can even put your application in a few months before the 3 years to account for some of the wait time. With your green card you pretty much have the same rights as a US citizen with the exception of voting you are not allowed to until you become a citizen. Get caught doing it and you will be in trouble when it comes to citizenship.